Apache ManifoldCF. Unable to create repository connection to FileNet

Question

I am trying to connect to FileNet from ManifoldCF without any success. The error I got is

Connection status:  Connection temporarily failed: Connection refused to host: 127.0.0.1; nested exception is: java.net.ConnectException: Connection refused: connect

The summary of my parameters are below. Note that i put the * next to parameter that I am unsure about and server name and username are fictitious

FileNet domain=test-my-filenet-domain *
User ID=myusername
Server protocol=http
Server WebServices location=wsi/FNCEWS40DIME *
Object store=Test OS
Document URL protocol=http
Document URL hostname=samplehost.mycomp.org
Document URL location=Workplace/Browse.jsp
Server port=7003
Server hostname=samplehost-wp.mycomp.org
Document URL port=443
Password=********

I have verified that the FileNet CE ping page is up and running at the url http://samplehost.mycomp.org:7003/FileNet/Engine

And that classic Workplace is available at https://samplehost-wp.mycomp.org/Workplace. Note that Workplace is over HTTPS and CE is over HTTP

Anyone out there successfully connected to a FileNet repo using Apache Manifold?

Bliss

Are you saying that you are unsure what your FileNet "Domain" is? Also, your connection error shows 127.0.0.1 as the ip; Are ManifoldCF and FileNet on the same server? – Lebron

Chris. Yes, I am unsure what to enter for the FileNet domain. No, ManifoldCF and FileNet are not on the same server. – Bliss

Answer 1

I've figured it out. According to the documentation for building MCF https://manifoldcf.apache.org/release/release-2.5/en_US/how-to-build-and-deploy.html#Building+and+running+the+FileNet+connector. There are two additional processes that has to be run for FileNet and Documentum. You must run registry process before running the server process.

<MCF_Install>/processes/filenet-registry/run.[bat|sh]
<MCF_Install>/processes/filenet-server/run.[bat|sh]

From the Apache code base you can see that it's make a local connection (line 125), https://apache.googlesource.com/manifoldcf/+/CONNECTORS-474/connectors/filenet/connector/src/main/java/org/apache/manifoldcf/crawler/connectors/filenet/FilenetConnector.java. This is where it's failing because the dependent processes haven't run yet.

Note that MCF version 2.4 works with FileNet 4.5. If you are running newer version of FileNet then you'll need to add all the FileNet CEWS client jars to

<MCF_Install>/processes/filenet-server/lib-proprietary

I am running FileNet 5.2 and was able to download all the jar from ACCE. Also, if you are running newer version of FileNet, the web service location is wsi/FNCEWS40MTOM or wsi/FNCEWS40SOAP. wsi/FNCEWS40DIME is deprecated.

Bliss

wsi/FNCEWS40MTOM is definitely preferred. Also note that if you find anything odd using the updated FileNet API, Apache recommends rebuilding the connector, and provides an ANT file to do so. – Lebron

Answer 2

You can locate your FileNet domain by using either FEM or ACCE. When you first log into ACCE or FEM, the domain is the very first (top) entry.

FileNet P8 domain

Your FileNet version wasn't mentioned. If you are connecting FileNet version 5.1+ then your Server WebServices location should be: Server WebServices location=wsi/FNCEWS40MTOM/

I assume you are using WebLogic based on your port number; and that you are in the 3rd service instance of WebLogic on that server (default is 7001 and you are at 7003). : IBM FileNet P8 ports

Your error message suggests that you are not finding a service located at the port specified; specifically it cannot connect to some port on the local host. Verify that the host is the same server (you are running FileNet on the same Server as ManifoldCF).

Does http://127.0.0.1:7003/FileNet/Engine work?

Lebron

Ok, I got the domain name from the ping page. The version is P8 Content Platform Engine - 5.2.1.4. And no, 127.0.0.1:7003 does not work, the error is site can't be reached. I would think that Manifold would try to connect to CE at the specified Document URL, which is "samplehost.mycomp.org" – Bliss

I would think the same thing, but your error is suggesting something different. You might want to log onto the Manifold server and try to ping/trace "samplehost.mycomp.org" and see what ip it comes up with. If it is correct, is there another config file that needs editing? I haven't configured a Manifold instance myself, but they do only say they are compatible with FileNet 4.5.... perhaps it won't work with 5.2? Also, you definitely want to be using Server WebServices location=wsi/FNCEWS40MTOM/ if you are on 5.2. – Lebron

Found the code MCF where it tries to connect to FileNet (see line 125). Not sure why it hardcoded 127.0.0.1 when it does a FileNet factory lookup. apache.googlesource.com/manifoldcf/+/CONNECTORS-474/connectors/… – Bliss

I'm thinking that might be used to obtain the session from the ManifoldCF plugin. FileNet doesn't use that port (that I'm aware of), and there is nothing within the import section detailing FileNet API. I suspect that is a function of the org.apache.manifoldcf.agents.interfaces.*; package. 2 lines down you will find newSession.createSession(userID,password,filenetDomain,objectStore,serverWSIURI); where serverWSIURI should be providing the proper URI. – Lebron

Perhaps "rmi://127.0.0.1:8305/filenet_factory" is where it is giving you that error. Just guessing here.... Perhaps you have RMI for ManifoldCF listening on a different port? – Lebron